


Bells

by empatheticidiot



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Break Up, Christmas Special, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Manga Spoilers, Romance, Two-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27991584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empatheticidiot/pseuds/empatheticidiot
Summary: “Just wait, (Name),” Oikawa said seriously, squeezing your hand as you turned to face him with a questioning look on your face. He smiled honestly. “I’m going to propose to you in front of this tree when I go pro, with the nicest ring and all!”Christmas 2020 Special :)
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru & Original Female Character(s), Oikawa Tooru & Reader, Oikawa Tooru/Original Female Character(s), Oikawa Tooru/Reader, Oikawa Tooru/You, Reader/Minor OC
Kudos: 63





	Bells

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Manga spoilers!!
> 
> I went to UC Irvine for undergrad, so I was squealing when I read that Iwaizumi went to Irvine, CA for university :D
> 
> End shpiel, onward to the story!

The city of Tokyo really knew how to decorate for the holiday season. Not a building was without numerous wreaths and garlands, and the garlands from all the buildings connected to the center of the city where a giant Christmas tree stood.

You kept your hands warm in the pockets of your wool walker coat, the thick scarf around your neck keeping both your neck and the lower half of your face from freezing. The weather forecast had said that there would be snow tonight, but your knee-high boots had stepped in anything but.

You stood in front of the tree and admired the classic colored ornaments that adorned the branches and the glistening, blinking colorful lights that danced all around it. There were other couples holding onto each other as they gazed at the tree as well from different areas and excitedly talking about exchanging gifts and getting ready for the Christmas feast being prepared in their homes tomorrow.

Normally, couples would come to see the tree and the decorations on Christmas Eve and even exchange their romantic gifts. You would have been one of those couples as well.

But you had broken off your most recent relationship just two weeks ago.

You had been with Hiro for nearly seven months, having first met at a café randomly. There were no problems with the relationship at all. You didn’t fight, you got along with his friends and family very well, and you were very understanding towards each other’s work schedules as you had your own practice as a physical therapist and he was a researcher at a nearby university.

Everything was fine until he brought up marriage.

* * *

_Flashback..._

“(Name)-san, what do you think about taking a small trip to Hokkaido during Christmas?” Hiro had asked as you both were curled up on your couch and watching random variety shows.

You didn’t even glance up from your phone as you received a text from Iwaizumi who you still kept in touch with consistently even after high school. “Hokkaido?” you repeated mindlessly, opening the text.

**_How’re things going with Hiro?_ **

The researcher nodded. “Yeah, I thought it’d be good to get away from the city for once since we’ve never really taken a vacation together, and I heard it’s beautiful there during Christmas,” he explained, becoming more eager as he spoke.

Your lips twitched at his enthusiasm and lifted your eyes to meet his expectant ones momentarily. “I’ll consider it,” you said, knowing if it were to happen that you would need to shift some of your clients around.

Maybe this was finally the year you could get past spending Christmas alone.

He seemed satisfied with the answer, then he suddenly cleared his throat. “I’d also like for us to think about getting married soon,” he said slowly, pausing to gauge your reaction.

Your blood ran cold, your fingers becoming still in the middle of replying back to Iwaizumi, and you looked at him again like a deer caught in a pair of headlights. “What?”

He fiddled with the throw blanket that covered both his and your legs. “I was hoping that we could get married soon, maybe next year?” he suggested hopefully. “I love you, (Name), and I want us to live our lives together in the same house with some kids in a few years.” He reached over and rested a hand on your leg as he looked at you earnestly. “What do you say?”

You didn’t need to think twice.

You stood up with your back towards him and cleared your throat. “I think you need to leave.”

“Wait, what? Why?”

“Because we’re over. You can grab your things tomorrow morning.”

He got to his feet and grabbed your wrist, spinning you around. “What did I say, (Name)-san?” he pleaded, his voice and his eyes frantic and filled with panic. “Isn’t marriage the most logical course, considering how we’ve been doing?”

You frowned and looked him dead in the eye. “It’s only logical for two people who love each other.”

It took him a few seconds to process what you had said. “But…but I thought…you and I,” he stammered, trying to piece together his thoughts as his picture of a future with you came shattering down on him.

You pried your wrist from his grip. “It was wrong of you to assume that I loved you when I’ve never said the words to you before,” you said slowly, ensuring he that understood your point. “I never intended to marry you, either.”

Heartbreak quickly turned into hot anger. “Then why were you with me all these months!? Why didn’t you tell me from the start!?” he shouted over the announcer’s voice on the television.

You frowned and folded your arms across your chest. “I was with you because I liked you more than I would a friend; it just never transitioned any more past that. As for telling you,” you broke off to pinch the bridge of your nose, “I told you when we first met that I wasn’t looking for anything serious.”

“Yeah, but—”

You dropped your hand from your face and narrowed your eyes at him. “But you thought you could change my mind?” you finished his sentence for him.

“Women have to get married eventually!”

The look you sent him had him flinching backwards. You walked to the front door of your apartment and opened the door. “Get. Out,” you enunciated darkly.

A look of disbelief still plastered on his face, he grabbed his coat and bag and stormed out of your apartment. Then he paused outside and turned around with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “If you change your mind—”

You slammed the door in his face before he could finish that idiotic train of thought and locked it thoroughly before sighing as you made your way into the kitchen. You tapped a few buttons on your phone, and Iwaizumi’s sleepy face popped up onto your screen. “Hey.”

He yawned from his apartment in Irvine, California as he had been in the middle of getting ready to go to his internship site. “What’s up?” he asked, then saw you lifting up a full glass of wine. “Oh. What’s wrong with the guy this time?”

You took a large, unladylike swig as you took both the glass and your phone back to sit on the sofa. “He started talking about marriage.”

“The bastard.”

A giggle escaped your lips as you threw your head back and sighed, the tension being released from your body finally. “He thought I was in love with him,” you explained, then lifted your head back up and frowned. “Hajime, why do guys automatically assume women are in love with them?”

Iwaizumi let out a small laugh as he pulled on a jacket. “Same for women, too, (Name),” he pointed out. “The last girl I dated said she loved me and made a scene in public when I didn’t say it back to her.” He took a sip of his coffee and looked thoughtful. “I think people just want their feelings of this wholeheartedly being in love to be reciprocated that they automatically believe that once the feeling’s there for them, it _has_ to be there for their partners, too.”

You frowned, nearly done with half your glass. “Stupid,” you muttered.

From across the Pacific Ocean, Iwaizumi studied your face and sighed. “Still?”

You laughed twice before chugging the rest of your wine in one go. Once you set the glass down on your coffee table, you sniffed and exhaled loudly in an attempt to hold back your tears. “I’m stupid, right? It’s already been five years,” you said as lightly as you could muster.

“You should call him.”

There was a loud silence as the two of you stared each other down.

You were the first to break it. “I should go.”

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Iwaizumi just heaved a sigh. “Yeah, I need to get to the hospital before my supervisor. I’ll talk to you later,” he said.

Before he ended the call, you could’ve sworn that you heard him say, “You two are idiots.”

_...End Flashback_

* * *

You turned your attention to the LED advertisement board just behind the tree as it displayed an advertisement for a new line of men’s cologne.

With Oikawa Tooru as its lead model.

You smiled wistfully as he flashed a smile at the camera before the screen transitioned to a new advertisement. Even if he was thousands of miles away in Argentina, he was still showing up in Japan.

You went to one of the hot cocoa vendors and saw on your way there a man proposing to the woman in front of him. You joined the crowd’s applause and cheers with a small clap of your own.

It was supposed to have been you, once upon a time.

* * *

_Flashback..._

_Five Years Ago_

“We’re going to get in trouble!” you whispered to Oikawa who sat next to you in class.

He smiled with a finger against his lips. “We’ll be fine, trust me,” he reassured quietly, turning back to attention when the teacher had finished writing the exercise on the board.

Once school was out for the day, you met Oikawa in front of the gates and frowned. “Since when did you ditch practice?” you asked, knowing you were going to get hell from your track coach tomorrow.

He waved a hand dismissively. “We don’t have a practice match until later this week, and the new captain needs to learn how to lead the team without me there.” Before you could protest further, he grabbed your hand and began walking towards the bus stop.

He had his arm wrapped around your shoulders the entire ride to where you ended up falling asleep on his shoulder. He shook you awake when the bus had come to the right stop. “(Name), wake up, let’s go!” he said excitedly, his eyes sparkling with glee.

Bleary-eyed and yawning, you let yourself be pulled out of the bus, and you blinked a few times to realize that it was already evening and that you were now in Tokyo. You rounded on Oikawa. “Tooru, what the hell!?”

Instead of being flustered at that tone of yours, he smiled brightly at you as he led you around town. “I always wanted to come see the city’s decorations with you,” he sang cheerfully, observing all of the wreaths and garlands that had been elegantly decorated with awe. “We’ve always had practice during this time of year, but since we’re graduating soon…”

You didn’t argue anymore, knowing he still felt the bitterness of being eliminated by Karasuno High School in the semi-final round of his last Spring Inter-High Qualifiers. Instead, you sighed and swung your linked hands back and forth. “Well, since we’re here, let’s go grab something good to eat,” you said, giggling as you suddenly dashed ahead, dragging him behind you.

After eating and shopping, the two of you ended up sitting on a bench in front of the tree that was placed in the middle of the city’s shopping district.

“Just wait, (Name),” Oikawa said seriously, squeezing your hand as you turned to face him with a questioning look on your face. He smiled honestly. “I’m going to propose to you in front of this tree when I go pro, with the nicest ring and all!”

Blushing, you covered your face with your other hand as you laughed. “Don’t make me wait too long then,” you teased, resting your head against his shoulder as the two of you continued to admire the beautiful tree.

_...End Flashback_

* * *

You sat down on one of the wooden benches in front of the tree with a cup of hot chocolate that had seventeen mini-marshmallows.

_Seventeen marshmallows in her cup, please!_

_What, Tooru, why!? That’s going to be too sweet!_

_Because seventeen’s going to be my number when I go pro!_

Last you checked on social media, he was still the proud owner of the CA San Juan jersey that had the number seventeen on it.

You took a sip of your drink casually, now immune to how much sweeter the marshmallows made the hot chocolate, and continued to watch the couples walk around town and taking pictures with each other at each corner of the district.

If things had gone differently, would you be doing the same with Oikawa in Argentina right now?

* * *

_Flashback..._

_Four Years Ago_

“I’m moving to Argentina.”

You choked on your tea as you hastily put the cup back on the saucer.

Oikawa waited until the waiter arrived with an extra cup of water for you to chase down the team with and left before continuing. “I’ve thought about it, and I think it’s the best step for me to become a pro volleyball player. I called them this morning to take the offer.”

You felt your heart clenching tightly as it dropped to the pit of your stomach. You knew how much he had wanted to go pro, but you didn’t think that it would mean him going out of the country to pursue his dream. “Tooru—”

“I want you to come with me.”

Your eyes widened. “What?” you managed to ask as you still processed his words.

He leaned forward in his seat. “We’d have a place to live over there, thanks to the team offering furnished housing. It’s gorgeous there, from what I’ve heard, and we won’t have to worry about money as long as I become a regular on the team, and—” he listed off excitedly.

You held a hand up. “You didn’t even talk to me about it, and now you’re asking me to live in another country with you?” you asked incredulously, a spark of rage burning in the bit of your gut. “When I don’t even know the language enough to attend _college_ there?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “You could learn as you go, I know I will because I have to,” he answered as if stating the obvious.

“And what about my future, my career?”

He ran a hand through his hair as he usually did when he became frustrated. “Listen, this is a real chance for us to go out and explore the rest of the world for once! Not everything has to go according to a certain plan,” he sighed, ruffling his hair. “If you’d stop being so stubborn about following yours and be more open-minded about this opportunity, I’m sure you’d definitely enjoy going on this adventure!”

You shook your head slowly in disbelief. “ _Stubborn_?” you repeated.

“(Name)—”

You stood up, taking the promise ring off your left ring finger that he had given you after six months of dating and slamming it down onto the table. “You have your future to look forward to, and I have my own, but it looks like they don’t align.” You turned and started walking away from the café. “I really do wish you the best, Tooru.”

He didn’t run after you.

_...End Flashback_

* * *

You inhaled deeply as you looked at the star that stood at the top of the tree, holding back the tears that had already begun to form. At the time, you really did wish that he would have come running after you.

Maybe it would have changed things.

Tossing the cup in the trashcan, you also knew there was no point in dwelling on what-ifs at this point anymore. You had studied at Tokyo University, became a licensed physical therapist, and opened up your own practice nearby that made you enough to survive on by yourself.

But damn if you weren’t incredibly lonely.

Sighing, you stood up to leave, taking one last glimpse of the illuminated tree in front of you.

And your eyes fell upon Oikawa Tooru who stood in front of the tree out of breath with a weekender bag in his hand.

Your heart leapt to your throat, and you found it hard to speak for a few seconds. “Too..ru?” you managed to call out quietly. “Why—”

“I made a mistake,” he said quickly, interrupting you. He still fought to catch his breath as he had sprinted all around town to look for you.

The sound of his voice for the first time in years already had tears pricking your eyes.

Finally evening out his breathing, he stood up straighter with a wistful look in his eyes. “I don’t regret doing what I had to do to become a pro volleyball athlete; I’ve worked up to finally become the main setter for Club Athletico San Juan,” he explained, then bit his lower lip as he tried to reign in his emotions. “I’m where I thought I wanted to be.”

You smiled bitterly. “Congratulations on reaching your goals,” you said, clenching your hands into fists in your jacket pocket. “Did you come back here to tell me your accomplishments? A text would have sufficed.”

He shook his head and walked towards you. “I made the mistake of letting you walk away from me all those years ago,” he said solemnly, his gaze holding yours.

Your breath hitched at both his words and the misery and warmth in his eyes.

He shifted his eyes down to the ground in front of him. “I’ve tried moving on since then, I’ve seen other women; but I couldn’t make the relationships last more than a month,” he began, then looked up to you again as his voice became thick with emotion. “Because I would always want to see you whenever I had sex or went out on dates with them.” He laughed humorlessly as tears began to form in his eyes. “I stopped having one-night stands because the last woman who had the same name as you called my name out differently than you did, and it wrecked me.” He wouldn’t mention to you that he had ended up becoming a crying mess in the middle of it.

You could see the tears in his eyes and saw him desperately trying to hold them back. Sighing, you unclenched your hands in your pockets. “I think it was probably for the best that we went our separate ways back then,” you disagreed, watching him flinch at your words. You elaborated, “I was able to really focus on my career, and I even have my own practice now.” You hesitated before adding, “And I’ve also tried seeing other men during those years.”

The corner of your lips twitched up slightly as you admitted, “But those relationships just never made it to Christmas.”

There was reluctance in his voice as he asked, “Why?”

You were quiet a moment, then you took a small step forward towards him and waited until his eyes made contact with yours. “Because Christmas was always better with you,” you answered softly, giving him a gentle smile as a tear escaped and made its way down the side of your face.

Every Christmas, your parents would always scream and argue about finances and trivial matters that they would forget to celebrate the holiday break with you. The only thing you would look forward to during winter breaks was Oikawa and Iwaizumi sneaking you out of your house to play with them.

But your most favorite thing about Christmas was when Oikawa would sneak you out of your house on Christmas Eve and take you to see the trees and decorations around Miyagi with your little tradition of sharing hot chocolate with seventeen marshmallows while sitting in front of the tree. You even spent Christmas Day with his family up until he had moved out of the country and you had gone to university.

Oikawa’s tears flowed freely down his face as a sob escaped from his lips. “I’m still in love with you, (Name)! And I will always be in love with you!” he declared loudly, his hand gripping his bag tighter to where it shook.

Your eyes widened, and you didn’t bother to stop your own tears from streaming down.

He held his other hand to his chest as he looked desperately towards you. “I came back to ask you to marry me, because I can’t keep doing this without you,” he declared, his hand gripping the shirt above his heart. “If you want to remain in Japan, we’ll find a way to make it work. I just…” he trailed off as he sobbed again, his voice breaking. “I just don’t want to be without you anymore.”

By now, your face was buried in your hands, your own cries muffled by your fingers, as you felt as if time was now finally moving forward for you after having been at a standstill for so long.

You remembered being the arms of your past lovers and wishing for them to belong to Oikawa. You remembered being kissed by them and only hoping for the smell of sweet mint to surround you.

You remembered the disappointment from those relationships. Even if you had been with men who genuinely loved you, you found that you could never say the words back.

You remembered feeling incredibly lonely even when you had someone.

Letting out a shuddering breath, you finally lifted your face from your hands and cleared your throat. “Where’s the ring?”

Abruptly stopping in the middle of crying, Oikawa opened his eyes to see you smiling at him. “Huh?” he asked, dumbfoundedly.

“If you’re here to propose, where’s the ring?” you teased jokingly. You shook your head and sighed, wiping your tears with the back of your hand. “I’ll marry you, and I can start a new practice in Argentina,” you said slowly as your voice cracked. Then you smiled as best as you could as a fresh batch of tears trailed down your face again as you agreed, “I don’t want to be without you, either.”

He dropped his bag to the floor and took three long strides towards you, cupping your face with his frozen hands before kissing you deeply as if there was no tomorrow.

The smell of sweet mint was enough to make you want to cry again as his lips felt like home, a feeling you hadn’t felt since his departure.

When he parted his lips from yours, he went to his bag and hastily dug around its contents before letting out a relieved sigh and quickly coming back in front of you. He took your left hand gently in his and slid a ring on your left finger. “With the nicest ring and all,” he echoed his words from years ago with a warm smile. “Not too tacky, not too gaudy.”

You saw he had gotten a white-gold band with a simple princess-cut diamond on it and smiled as you pulled him in to kiss him sweetly. “I love it.”

The bells rang loudly, signaling that it was midnight and now Christmas Day.

He took your hand in his again and kissed the back of it. “Let me take care of you for the rest of our lives,” he murmured.

You reached up to wipe the stray tears from his face and giggled quietly as you nodded once. “Okay.”

His arms wrapped around you tightly, holding you as close to him as possible while he inhaled the scent of you that he had so desperately missed during the past four years without you. “I won’t ever let you go again.”

Your smile grew against his chest as you closed your eyes and let yourself be basked with his warmth and scent. “Me neither.”

**Author's Note:**

> *I did read that in Japan, couples say things like, "Please take care of me" or "Please let me take care of you" as a proposal instead of saying, "Marry me."
> 
> This will probably be another two-shot. If so, I'll post up the epilogue chapter on Christmas Eve~
> 
> Stay safe, everyone!<3


End file.
